Moranda
A feminine name derived from Latin meaning "dark" or "brown-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 256 living Americans carry the first name Moranda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Moranda today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Moranda births was 1994 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Moranda. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
256
~ 1 in 1,338,884 Americans
Peak year
1994
21 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2001 SSA rank
#11,714
Tracked since 1974
Census
Moranda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 268 people with the first name Moranda, which placed it at #31,773 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#31,773
National first-name rank
People counted
268
268 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moranda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moranda is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Hispanic (10.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Moranda described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Moranda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.0% · 142
- Black or African American28.4% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino10.1% · 27
- Two or more races5.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 3
Popularity
Moranda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Moranda from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 115 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Moranda by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Moranda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Morandas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Moranda
The name Moranda is believed to have its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization of Italy. The Etruscans were a highly advanced culture that flourished in the region of modern-day Tuscany between the 8th and 3rd centuries BC. The name is thought to be derived from the Etruscan word "mor," which meant "dark" or "black," and the suffix "-anda," which was a common ending in Etruscan names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Moranda can be found in an Etruscan funerary inscription from the 5th century BC, which was discovered in the ancient city of Cerveteri. This inscription suggests that the name was in use during this time period and may have been associated with a particular family or clan within Etruscan society.
As the Roman Empire gradually absorbed and assimilated the Etruscan culture, the name Moranda likely spread to other parts of the Italian peninsula. However, it remained relatively uncommon and was not widely documented in historical records from the Roman era.
During the Middle Ages, the name Moranda seems to have fallen into disuse, with few, if any, recorded instances of its usage. It wasn't until the Renaissance period that the name began to resurface, likely due to a renewed interest in classical and Etruscan culture among scholars and artists of the time.
One notable figure who bore the name Moranda was an Italian noblewoman from the 16th century. Moranda Malaspina (1519-1588) was a member of the powerful Malaspina family and was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of poets and writers in her court.
Another notable Moranda was Moranda Giustiniani (1622-1688), an Italian nun and mystic who is venerated by the Catholic Church. She was known for her devotion to the Virgin Mary and her visions and mystical experiences, which were recorded in her writings.
In the 18th century, a French artist named Moranda Le Sueur (1730-1795) gained recognition for her portraits and historical paintings. She was a member of the prestigious Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture and her work was highly regarded during her lifetime.
A more recent figure with the name Moranda was Moranda Banning (1832-1918), an American philanthropist and social reformer who was active in the women's suffrage movement and the establishment of educational institutions in Los Angeles, California.
While the name Moranda has remained relatively rare throughout history, it has been borne by a diverse range of individuals from different backgrounds and time periods. Its Etruscan origins and connection to ancient Italian culture have contributed to its enduring mystique and appeal.
People
Moranda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Moranda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Moranda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Moranda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Moranda going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,338,884 US residents.
Is Moranda a common name?
We classify Moranda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 270 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Moranda most popular?
The single biggest year for Moranda was 1994, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Moranda is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Moranda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 268 people with the name Moranda, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,773 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Moranda in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Moranda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Moranda appears almost entirely female. Of the 269 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Moranda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moranda is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Hispanic (10.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Moranda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Moranda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.0% (142 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Moranda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Moranda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Moranda in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Moranda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Moranda in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Moranda can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Moranda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.